Vinegar and Frozen Butterbeer
by koalasneedlove
Summary: Collection of Hogwarts AU oneshots,featuring Kurt and Blaine, maybe together as a couple, maybe on their own, with guest appearances from the New Directions, the Warblers, the Quidditch teams and Lily Potter.
1. Chapter 1

Kurt first starts to show signs of magic at the age of three – rather a late bloomer in the Harper family, and his mother's relatives worry a little that his magic won't be as strong as theirs is. His mother doesn't worry about a thing, and starts teaching him all about Hogwarts. When Kurt is five, he knows all the words to the school song and sings it every day until he is enrolled in primary school. He fascinates his teachers: he has such a firm grip on the more complicated matters of day to day life, yet whenever they pull out the old video player he is enthralled (they later learn that he doesn't have one at home and are told it is because of economic reasons when actually it's because Elizabeth gets scared when she can't figure out how the Muggles stole a wizard idea and made it _better_). Kurt Hummel, his teachers all decide once he's moved up from the Infant building to the Junior one, is one to watch.

When Kurt turns eight, his mother is driving him home from Diagon Alley, where he had been admiring the latest robes Madame Malkin's is producing, when, out of nowhere, another car appears and Elizabeth can't brake in time so the cars meet head on and then the other driver is getting out of the car and he's saying words Kurt has been told never to say and Kurt's crying and straining against the seatbelt and trying to get his mother to wake up and she isn't and _why isn't she using her magic? Why isn't she waking up?_

Hours later, his father comes running into hospital and takes Kurt home, because the doctors say he's fine, but they don't stay long because then his father is taking him _back _to London and they go to St. Mungo's to make sure Kurt is OK.

His father is a Muggle, so he knows nothing about Hogwarts other than what his wife told him, and Kurt begins to learn about what will be his new school on his own by reading the books his mother left for him and by travelling to Diagon Alley as much as possible. Hannah Abbott, the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, was a friend of his mother's and tells him everything he needs to know. From the ages of eight to eleven, Kurt spends his summers unofficially working there and listening to tales of Hogwarts before and after the Second Wizarding War. He learns about Harry Potter from someone who _actually _knew him; he listens to people talk about how much better a Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt is than Cornelius Fudge.

Kurt doesn't know much about the Houses at Hogwarts, because his mother never lived anywhere but the Slytherin common room and dormitory and Hannah refuses to tell him about the Hufflepuff common room because, apparently, nobody but a Hufflepuff had been inside for more than a thousand years and if he wanted to know about the common room he would have to be put in Hufflepuff, but he knows one thing for certain: he is _definitely _a Slytherin.

It comes as a bit of a shock when the Sorting Hat is placed on his head and stays there for a second only before announcing, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Kurt follows the rest of the Gryffindor students up to the tower dejectedly. Everybody else seems to be ecstatic – and why wouldn't they be? They had just been placed in the same House as Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger – but Kurt only feels depression. A Gryffindor? He always thought he would be a Slytherin, like his mother. He takes only a second to look down as he climbs up the many, many flights of stairs that he hates so much. He should be in the dungeons.

"Aren't you excited?" asks a girl next to him. He looks at her for a second before shaking his head. The girl frowns. "Why not?"

"I didn't want to be a Gryffindor," he sighs, hoping she'll leave him alone.

"My cousin didn't want to be a Ravenclaw," says the girl, who is clearly determined to make a new friend. "But he loves it now. Says he can't imagine being in another House." Kurt makes a vague sound to signify he heard. The whole group has come to a stop while they wait for the staircase to move so they can continue. The girl sticks out her hand. "Mercedes Jones."

Kurt surveys her hand for just a moment before smiling slightly and shaking it. "Kurt Hummel."

Kurt spends the rest of his first year getting used to his new House. In the second week, he sends a letter to his dad and asks him to remove every Slytherin thing in his room because he got sorted in Gryffindor. He receives a reply the next day saying that it was done, and he knew Kurt was in Gryffindor because he had been told by Hannah, who had been told by her husband, Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor House. He watches the Quidditch games with Mercedes, who quickly became his best friend, and wears his House colours with pride (and a little annoyance because red and gold do _not _match his skin tone at all). When he returns home for Christmas, he redecorates his room so the walls are red and the carpet is gold as opposed to the green and silver colours they had previously been. He puts up pictures he's taken around Hogwarts of him and Mercedes, and it makes him feel slightly homesick to look at the castle. By the time he returns to Hogwarts after the holidays, he has all ready had enough of his boring old home town and he barely ventured out of his house.

The day before Kurt begins his second year, he receives an owl from Mercedes, informing him that she will arrive a day late because she's got the flu. He wanders the Hogwarts Express before finally sitting with two Ravenclaws: an Asian girl named Tina and a wheelchair bound boy named Artie and by the time the train ride is over they have become good friends.

Kurt doesn't really pay attention to many of the notices Headmistress McGonagall gives them, but his ears perk up when he hears that Professor Schuester is resurrecting the old Frog Choir, something that died out years ago when Professor Flitwick finally retired. He spares a glance at Artie and Tina over at the Ravenclaw table and they both nod enthusiastically back at him. He can see a tall Hufflepuff boy look interested, but one look at his friends wipes the expression off his face until all that is left is distain. Kurt is disappointed – the tall boy was quite attractive – but he still wants to join and it's the first thing he tells Mercedes about when she gets back to school.

They both join the Frog Choir, along with Artie, Tina and another girl: a Slytherin named Rachel Berry who began her audition with, "My name is Rachel Berry and I _will _be the next Celestina Warbeck." He enjoys the Frog Choir, other than Rachel's presence, but what Kurt does not enjoy is the frozen Butterbeers that are tossed in his face the minute he steps out of the practise room. Two Slytherin boys high five each other as they walk past, holding now empty cups and everybody else is frozen behind them. Nobody knows quite how to react.

The bullying increases over his second year, especially once Kurt comes out as gay although every member of the Frog Choir gets it, but it eases up ever so slightly when Finn Hudson, the tall Hufflepuff Kurt had seen at the beginning of the year who is now the Hufflepuff keeper, joins and is quickly followed by his girlfriend, Quinn Fabray, Quidditch match commentator, and her two friends, Santana Lopez and Britney Pierce, a Slytherin and Hufflepuff respectively. Santana plays Chaser on the Slytherin team, and everyone knows Britney Pierce. She's the girl who blew up a cauldron in Potions and was the only person to come out of the classroom completely fine. Soon more people are joining: another few Ravenclaw boys, Matt and Mike, and a Slytherin Chaser named Puck. Artie and Tina look a bit overwhelmed when Matt and Mike walk in the room and Tina hastily explains, "They're the youngest Ravenclaws to ever make the team. Mike's a Seeker and Matt's a Chaser. They're like royalty in the tower."

Kurt thanks the Sorting Hat for not putting him in Ravenclaw.

Kurt's in his third year when the bullying gets the worst it's ever been. Azimio Adams and David Karofsky, the two Slytherin Beaters and the burliest boys to ever be admitted to Hogwarts, seem to have a personal vendetta against Kurt. They trap him in a suit of armour once, and get detention for a week when McGonagall finds him, meaning they miss their Quidditch game and Slytherin loses out on the chance to compete for the Quidditch Cup. This makes everything worse.

Kurt's third year does have one significant upside though, and it comes in the shape of Blaine Anderson, a Hufflepuff. They first meet over a cauldron when they're paired together in Potions and over the year become closer and closer. Blaine even debates joining the Frog Choir, but eventually chooses not to and instead reveals that the elite Hufflepuff a capella group, the Warblers (Kurt jests that they should be the Badgers and is only slightly shocked when Blaine replies that they nearly _were_) have offered him the lead soloist spot.

"Will you hate me if I take it?" he asks Kurt one day as they're lazing around by the lake. "Because if you will, I'll leave the spot to someone else. Nick was a contender, too."

"Of course I won't hate you!" Kurt replies indignantly, one eye on Blaine and one on Azimio and Karofsky who are mucking around on the opposite shore. Blaine notices and follows his gaze before sighing.

"I hope they get dragged in by the Giant Squid," he mutters.

"Dylan?" replies Kurt. "No, he would never do that!"

"You know the Giant Squid," Blaine mutters. "Of course you do." But Kurt isn't really paying attention, because Azimio and Karofsky have moved a little bit closer to the shore line and therefore a little bit closer to him. Blaine sighs. "Are they really that bad?" he asks.

"Sometimes," Kurt begins, "I wish I had been placed in Slytherin. My mum was a Slytherin, so it used to be that which made me want to be one. Now I wish I was a Slytherin because maybe if I was a Slytherin they wouldn't bully me as much."

"Or they would bully you as much and more because you'd be sharing a dorm," suggests Blaine unhelpfully. "Look, Kurt." He shifts so that they're facing each other and his expression is serious. "You can call them out on their bullying. Especially Karofsky, because he's the worst, I know it. You can do it, Kurt. You just need to have courage."

It takes Kurt a second to realise the irony that he, a Gryffindor, is getting told to have courage by a Hufflepuff. Still, he appreciates the thought and lays back on the grass. Blaine reclines next to him.

"I'll do it next time I see them," he promises. "Thanks, Blaine."

"No problem."

Kurt manages to chase Karofsky down a few days later. An owl arrives from Blaine seconds before, bearing only the message 'Courage' but it's enough to make Kurt smile until Karofsky comes along and grabs the parchment. He tears it up and throws it on the floor and then disappears down the staircase, headed towards the Quidditch pitch. It takes Kurt a second but he follows him.

When Karofsky reaches the changing room, it's just him and Kurt and Kurt lets loose.

"What is your problem?" he yells.

"You're not meant to be in here!" Karofsky argues pathetically. Kurt stares him down. Karofsky growls. "Fine. You go everywhere, infecting everyone with your fairy dust and it makes me sick; acting like you're better than everyone else. You aren't Dumbledore, you know. You aren't superior just 'cos you're a homo. And you aren't superior because you're a Gryffindor either."

"You think I chose to be either of those things?" Kurt spits. "God, Karofsky, you're an idiot! I can't choose to be a Gryffindor any more than you can choose to be a Slytherin!"

"Don't push me, Hummel! Don't push me!"

"Or you'll do _what_?" laughs Kurt without a trace of humour in his voice and then freezes in shock as Karofsky ducks his head and kisses him. Karofsky pulls away and both boys look horrified. Then Karofsky kicks the bench over and storms out. Kurt sinks to the floor.

_Courage _backfired.

The day goes from bad to worse. Mercedes is annoyed at him for blowing her off – they had a study session in the library planned and he missed it to confront Karofsky – and Rachel Berry corners him on his ways back to Gryffindor tower to tell him that she's noticed he's been spending a lot of time with the lead singer of the Warblers and _is that a good thing for Frog Choir? _Kurt wants to jinx her, just a little bit. When he finally gets up to Gryffindor tower he finds the password has been changed and has to wait until someone else comes to let him in (his saving Grace is Albus Potter and his friends, coming out of the tower with an old bit of parchment while cackling madly). He rinses out his mouth and brushes his teeth, but he can still taste Karofsky on his lips. Finally, he gives up and goes down to the kitchens, making sure to stop off on the way and get the new password. He tickles the pear (a trick he learnt from Puck) and grabs a cake from the house elves before heading to the Hufflepuff common room's entrance. Then he pauses, because he has no idea what to do. Eventually, he knocks on one of the barrels.

Immediately he is doused in vinegar and it's stinging his eyes. A boy opens the door and surveys him.

"What're you doing?" he asks.

"Trying to find Blaine Anderson," Kurt replies, spitting out a bit of vinegar. "May I come in?"

The boy frowns. "No outsider has been inside the Hufflepuff common room for—"

"For God's sake, Wes, look at him!" comes another voice and Kurt jumps before noticing a head that has popped up by Wes's shoulder. "And besides, he's Blaine's friend." Before Wes can say anything else, the second boy has grabbed Kurt by the wet robes and pulled him through the portrait hole. He stumbles a little because he can't see very well with all the vinegar in his eyes but the boy points a wand at his face and mutters, "_Scourgify!_" With his vision cleared, Kurt can see.

The Hufflepuff common room is just like a badger's den, with tunnels leading off in every direction. Flowers decorated the windowsills – a homage to the late Professor Sprout. Kurt spots Blaine on one of the yellow sofas just as Blaine notices him. The Hufflepuff boy who had been leading Kurt in cries, "We have a visitor."

The general cry is, "What?" and Blaine hastens to explain.

"This is my friend, Kurt," he says before turning back to Kurt. "Did you talk to Karofsky." Kurt nods. "How'd it go?" Kurt shakes his head and the room falls into an awkward silence.

"I'm sorry," says the boy who brought Kurt in, speaking in an effort to break the silence. "I never introduced myself. I'm Jeff Sterling." At this, everyone else rushes to identify themselves.

"Trent Nixon."

"Wes Montgomery."

"Nick Duval."

"Thad Harwood."

"David Thompson."

"It's nice to meet you," they all chorus in harmony and Kurt is a little taken aback.

"Kurt Hummel," he replies.

"So, Kurt," Nick says, once everyone has settled down again and Kurt is sitting with the Hufflepuffs, seated next to Blaine on the sofa and sipping at a Butterbeer that Jeff had brought back from the last Hogsmeade trip. "How long have you been being bullied." Kurt nearly chokes on the Butterbeer at the bluntness of the statement.

"It's OK," Blaine assures him. "There's no judging here. It's a no-bullying House." Kurt loves being a Gryffindor, but as Blaine says it he can imagine himself as a Hufflepuff, living without enduring teasing like he does in Gryffindor.

Kurt spends the rest of the day with the Hufflepuff boys and even gets to hear them perform – they're all part of the Warblers – but promises not to give away any secrets to the Frog Choir. Blaine walks him down the tunnel to the portrait hole and they pause just inside the entrance, far enough away from the other boys to talk safely but still within the boundaries of the common room where Kurt can be sure he is safe.

"Thank you for letting me stay here today," he tells Blaine. "I know it's a big deal."

"Hey, we're friends." Blaine nudges him. "It's what we do. I care about you, you know."

"Still," Kurt says, blushing slightly, "you didn't have to. I don't know how to make it up to you."

"Well," Blaine says, looking like he's considering something. "You can go with me to Hogsmeade next weekend."

"I was going to anyway," Kurt says, confused. "We always go together."

"With your friends," Blaine corrects him. "This time I was thinking we could go on a date." Kurt blushes even more. "You don't have to," Blaine rushes to assure him. "I mean, it's fine if you don't want—"

"I would love to," Kurt says, effectively cutting Blaine off.

"Great!" Blaine beams. "See you in Potions!" He opens the door and gives Kurt a kiss on the cheek before vanishing off back down the tunnel. Kurt leaves, a smile on his face, and makes his way up to Gryffindor tower.

"You look happy," Tina comments as he breezes past her and Mike who are on their way back from the library.

"I am," Kurt replies. "I have a date next weekend."

There comes a cry of, "Homo," and Kurt's face is full of frozen Butterbeer and he blinks for a second before wiping it off and licking his hand.

"I'll have to tell Blaine not to get us one of these."

* * *

**A note about Kurt's Sorting: Yes, I believe he would be a Slytherin, but for the purposes of this story I needed him as a Gryffindor. He does have courage and he can be quite brave, so he isn't completely lacking in Gryffindor traits, but he's very ambitious which puts him as more of a Slytherin. He is a Gryffindor in this story purely because him being in another House wouldn't have worked very well.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Quidditch Matches and Giant Squids**

Since Kurt and Blaine had started dating, the rules regarding where they sat in the Great Hall had become blurred. It was common to find Kurt sitting with the Warblers at the Hufflepuff table or for Blaine to be chatting with Mercedes and the other Gryffindors. Unfortunately, the Quidditch season in fourth year saw an end to this mingling.

It also became common for Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs to avoid each other in the corridors and, if they ever did come into contact with each other, to exchange insults (the favourite of the Gryffindors was, "Your team is so bad they're worse than the Chudley Cannons!").

This all lead to Blaine and Kurt having to sneak out of their respective dormitories at night and make their way to the Room of Requirement in order to have a bit of time to themselves until Wes, the Hufflepuff Seeker and Prefect, found the two of them attempting to return to their dorms one night and promptly accused Kurt of trying to sabotage Hufflepuff's Chaser. After that incident, Blaine always had someone with him and an alarm system was set up around his bed (this lead to a few awkward situations, the most embarrassing being when Blaine rolled over in his sleep and fell out of bed. The other four boys in the dormitory woke up as soon as they heard the alarm go off and, thinking he was an intruder from Gryffindor, each shot a hex at him. He was in the hospital wing for a week and Leslie Donaghue, the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, was not impressed).

Even the teachers seemed to be getting involved. Professor Longbottom, a teacher known for hardly ever giving long pieces of homework, suddenly gave his Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw class an essay that needed to be three feet long on the importance of mandrakes in curing victims of petrification due for the next lesson in two days time, while Professor Slughorn, who had placed a rather large bet on Hufflepuff winning the Quidditch cup, amused the majority of the school by announcing to his Hufflepuff/Gryffindor class that each Gryffindor needed to give him a list of the 600 most commonly used ingredients in potion making but that the Hufflepuffs had no homework at all.

About a week before the final match took place, Leslie introduced last minute training sessions that took place every evening for two hours until Finn pointed out that if he didn't have enough time to do his homework then he would get a detention on the day of the game. Training sessions were cut down to half an hour of going over strategies for the game.

"Can't we just have one and stick with it?" Wes had asked in one session that took place after a particularly nasty Herbology lesson. "That worked with Slytherin and Ravenclaw."

"We're not playing Slytherin and Ravenclaw!" Leslie replied angrily. "We're playing Gryffindor. Gryffindors aren't morons! They can detect one tactic and they can beat it!"

"Plus," Finn had added in unhelpfully, "these guys have James _and _Albus Potter playing for them and Kurt told me that their parents have been giving them coaching sessions at home and they've been sending hints in via owl."

"_You've been fraternizing with Gryffindors?_" Leslie cried, her eyes blazing with anger. Finn backed away slowly. "And this close to the match? What were you _thinking_?"

"I wasn't fraternizing!" Finn tried to explain, his words coming out slightly slurred in his rush to appease his captain. "He's my step-brother! I was just delivering the post that his dad sent to me by mistake, I swear!" Leslie didn't look particularly happy but she also didn't look like she wanted to kill her Keeper any longer, so Blaine decided that was a good thing and pulled Finn back before he said something else to anger her.

"You aren't a postman," Leslie muttered but didn't press the issue further.

"What's a postman?" David, a pureblood, whispered to Blaine, who shrugged. The rest of the session was spent with a silent team listening to Leslie rant about the skills that the Gryffindor team would have. Blaine couldn't say that he was all that sad when the session ended.

* * *

The day of the game was perfect. There was no wind; there were no clouds; it was pleasantly warm but not overwhelmingly hot. The Hufflepuff waiting tent was nearly silent, the only noise being Leslie muttering about tactics under her breath. Blaine stood in the corner, his eyes closed and his mind racing as he thought about ways to keep the Quaffle away from the Gryffindor Chasers.

"Blaine," Finn said suddenly, "you're bouncing. Stop bouncing."

"I'm nervous," Blaine replied, his eyes opening quickly. He looked at Finn, who was lying on one of the benches and staring at the ceiling. "I bounce when I'm nervous, I can't help it."

"Would you two stop talking about being nervous?" David cried from the other side of the tent. "You're making _me _nervous."

"Good job, David," Wes added in scathingly. "Now you've made _everybody _nervous."

"I'm not nervous," Trent said. He received six death glares in return. "Come on, guys," he said enthusiastically, "we can do this! We can beat Gryffindor easily."

"Easy for you to say," muttered Finn. "You don't have to try and stop Albus Potter from scoring, do you?" The entire team winced in unison.

"Just make sure you find the Snitch quickly, Wes," said Leslie. "We don't want to draw this game out for too long. Hudson's good but Potter Number Two is better, and the more goals he scores the better he gets."

"Do you know how small the Snitch is?" Wes cried indignantly. The captain shot a glare in his direction and he took a step back. "Sorry, ma'am, I'll catch the Snitch quickly."

"Good." Leslie nodded. "Everybody knows the game plan, right?" The team nodded and Blaine subtly rolled his eyes. A horn sounded and the team looked at the entrance of the tent. "This is it," Leslie said seriously. "The final game. We can do this, people. We just need a bit of confidence."

"And Felix Felicis," Wes muttered as he took his place next to Finn as the team lined up. Finn promptly elbowed him in the stomach.

"Stop abusing my Seeker, Hudson, I need him," Leslie said from the front of the line without turning her head. "Are you all right, Wes?" Wes squeaked, "I'm fine," as the team moved towards the entrance onto the pitch.

"Is everyone in position and ready?" Leslie asked. The team made general noises that don't really answer Leslie's question, but she didn't press the matter. The wooden doors in front of the team slide open and Leslie mounted her broomstick in one fluid movement. Blaine followed suit and knew the rest of the team did, too.

"Ready, Blaine?" David asked from behind him.

"Just don't let the Bludgers hit me," he replied. David snorted but had no time to add anything new to the conversation as the doors completely opened and Leslie zoomed out of the waiting area. The sunlight hit Blaine's eyes and he blinked twice before flying out after her. The team did one loop around the pitch to warm up before hovering above Madam Hooch and the chest containing the Quaffle, Bludgers and Snitch. The majority of the crowd were cheering for them (only the Gryffindors and a few Ravenclaws were cheering for the other team) and Blaine can just make out two Gryffindors clad in their House colours but holding a banner saying _GO BLAINE!_

The Gryffindor team flew out of their end of the pitch to significantly less cheering than the Hufflepuffs, and they also lapped the pitch once before coming to a rest above Madam Hooch. Leslie and James Potter, the Gryffindor captain, shook hands while glaring at each other. To Blaine, they appeared to be trying to cut off the circulation in the other's hand.

The Snitch was released and it flew in front of the Gryffindor Seeker's face before going across to right in front of Wes. It shot high into the sky and then Blaine lost sight of it.

The Bludgers were released next and Trent's grip on his bat increased slightly.

Finally, Madam Hooch pulled out the Quaffle and Blaine instinctively leaned forward on his broomstick. Madam Hooch took one last look at each team before throwing the Quaffle into the air as high as she possibly could. There was a mad scramble for it as all six Chasers tried to grab it at once. Arianna Milligan, one of the Gryffindor Chasers, reached for it in glee, thinking she was the first one to reach it but, just as her hands were about to close on it, Nick came up from underneath the Quaffle and grabbed it from right in front of her. Arianna swore loudly and took off after him but by the time she caught up with him, Blaine had the Quaffle.

Blaine dodged the other two Gryffindor Chasers and tossed the Quaffle to Leslie, who passed it back to Blaine, who threw it at the hoop and scored as it sails through, Albus Potter just inches away from stopping it.

"Will you two do your damn job?" James screeched at the Gryffindor Beaters. The larger of the two Beaters complied with this order by hitting a Bludger straight at Blaine's head. It missed him but only by a few millimetres. Blaine could see Kurt's worried face in the crowd, even as the other Gryffindors cheered sadistically, and tried to send him a smile to reassure him that there's nothing to worry about but he wasn't sure that Kurt could see it.

"A narrow miss from Blaine Anderson as Kripke shoots straight," said Quinn Fabray into the microphone. "Even if there was no absolutely no need for the shot seeing as Blaine didn't even have the Quaffle—"

"Miss Fabray," scolded McGonagall.

"Sorry, Professor," Quinn apologised. "Anyway, Donaghue has the Quaffle, now Duval, back to Donaghue – ooh, nice interception from Potter Number One there – he's got it – good hit from Nixon but not good enough, Potter's still going. He shoots…AND A FANTASTIC SAVE FROM FINN HUDSON STOPS THE QUAFFLE!" The Gryffindor supporters groaned but the Hufflepuff supporters cheered so loudly only they could be heard. Blaine shot towards the end of the pitch and passed by Kurt.

"Good luck," he yelled and Blaine flashed a smile at him.

"Anderson, stop flirting with your boyfriend and get your head back into the game," Leslie shouted as she flew near him. "We need to get as far ahead as possible so that Gryffindor don't beat us when the Snitch is caught."

"Sorry," Blaine said and followed her down to the other end of the pitch where Finn had blocked an attempt from Arianna and had twisted himself so he hung upside down from his broomstick. Blaine could hear Quinn trying not to laugh as she observed the match.

"Thompson," Leslie ordered, "help him up. Hudson, pass me the Quaffle. Now!"

"Good" – snigger – "leadership from the" – snort – "Hufflepuff captain," Quinn choked out, her eyes becoming wetter and wetter with tears of laughter.

Finn made an attempt at throwing the Quaffle to Leslie but it failed miserably and the Quaffle plummeted towards the ground. Arianna and the other Gryffindor Chaser dove for it and Arianna managed to catch it. She threw it through the hoop and the bell sounded, signalling that ten points had been scored but Madam Hooch shook her head and blew her whistle before Quinn could even announce the new development.

"Penalty to Hufflepuff," she shouted. "There's more than one Chaser in the scoring area."

That was, apparently, too much for Arianna, who flew at the other Gryffindor Chaser and knocked him off his broom. He let out a cry as he fell and grabbed wildly at the air, searching for something to hold on to. Unfortunately for Blaine, he was hovering too close to the falling Chaser and the Gryffindor grabbed his ankle, yanking Blaine cleaning off his broom. They both tumbled towards the ground. Blaine could hear Quinn scream – actually, the whole crowd was screaming but Quinn's was the loudest because she had the microphone – and he could feel himself slowing down as he descends – probably a spell from a teacher – and every member from both teams were flying towards them but they weren't fast enough and the scream from Quinn is the last thing he heard before his head thumped against something extremely hard and everything went black.

* * *

Blaine comes to about a week later and at first everything is very white and fuzzy. He closes his eyes again because the light hurts. There's an odd pressure on his hand and he can hear muffled voices talking around him but he can't quite make out the words. Slowly, over many days, things start becoming clearer. His surroundings become less fuzzy but still stay pretty white; he's in the hospital wing. Why is he in the hospital wing? Did Leslie kill him for not scoring enough goals? It's not his fault! Albus Potter is freakishly good at being Keeper! No, he _had _scored a goal. Why only one? Oh yeah, he got pulled of his broom by that Gryffindor. That's embarrassing. He hoped Kurt hadn't seen that.

Wait. Kurt was at the match. He had seen that. _Crap_.

Another week passes since Blaine first woke up and he's lying on the bed, trying to work up the courage to open his eyes and face the light even though he really doesn't want to. There's a hand wrapped around his and he thinks it is Kurt but he isn't sure. The door to the hospital wing opens and closes and there are footsteps that stop right beside his bed. "Is he awake yet?" asks a voice that Blaine knows belongs to Nick. "Not yet," replies Kurt from the left hand side of him. The grip on his hand tightens like Trent's grip on the bat when he sees a Bludger or like David's grip on his quill in exams when he's concentrating really hard or like when Kurt's clutching at Blai—_oops, not appropriate for a hospital wing, Blaine_, his mind scolds.

"Madam Pomfrey said if he doesn't wake up soon she may have to transfer him to St Mungo's," Kurt continues, his voice cracking on the occasional word. Blaine knows that means he's crying. He doesn't like Kurt crying, so he guesses that he should probably say something to let Kurt know he's awake. It should be something really deep, he decides, something that really shows Kurt how much Blaine loves him and is not going to leave him.

He plans what he's going to say in his head. _Fear not, Kurt, for I am awake and will not be departing from Hogwarts or your side at anytime in the foreseeable future because I love you so very much. You are the love of my life._

What comes out is, ". Yuretelvfmylf."

It's still enough to get Kurt up and hovering over him and for Nick to ask, "What did he say?"

"I have no idea," Kurt breathes. "Blaine, can you hear me?"

Blaine tries to nod but his head doesn't move so he tries saying yes. It comes out as, "Ypf," but he thinks it gets the point across.

"I'm getting Madam Pomfrey," Nick says and dashes across to her office. After quite a while and many questions of, "Can you hear me?" and instructions to squeeze someone's hand, Blaine finally gets left alone with just Kurt and he finally blinks until his eyes get a little bit of moisture in them and he can open them without searing pain.

"_Blaine!"_ Kurt cries and hugs his boyfriend tightly. "I thought you were never going to wake up." He sounds so shaken and upset that Blaine gets upset, too, because the last thing he ever wanted to do was make Kurt cry.

"I'm awake," Blaine says, returning the hug. "I'm awake."

* * *

It's not that Blaine dislikes the Potter siblings; it's just that he never really had any cause to particularly like them. That's why it's a bit of a shock when both Potter boys corner him when he's on his way to Potions to make sure he's OK.

"Arianna's off the team," James promises him. "We don't tolerate that behaviour in Gryffindor."

"It was a good goal," Albus says just before he vanishes off to the Charms classroom.

Blaine barely makes it to his lesson on time.

But it isn't the two boys' apologies and checkups that surprise Blaine the most. No, that award would go to Lily Potter and her decision to make Blaine her new best friend after seeing the Quidditch match. She's a second year and quite annoying but Blaine likes her anyway. She attaches herself to Blaine two days after he has been released from the hospital wing and introduces herself as 'Lily Potter who you have to like because my dad is the Chosen One and now we've got that out of the way let's be friends'.

"You won the game," she informs him, jogging to keep up with Blaine's long strides – he had been reliably informed by Kurt that he walks abnormally fast for such a small person. "180-70."

"I know," Blaine replies. "Leslie told me."

"Oh," Lily says, clearly not used to somebody knowing about something before she told them. "OK."

She's there outside the Hufflepuff common room every morning before breakfast and she walks with him and the other boys to the Great Hall, chattering all the way. The boys all love her; Blaine thinks they see her as some form of loveable pet, almost like a puppy, but human sized.

Eventually, he gets used to her being around. The only time he objects to her presence is when he wants to be alone with Kurt, but he always makes up for it by buying her sweets from Honeydukes whenever he's in Hogsmeade.

They always spend Saturday mornings together, because Kurt refuses to get up before ten and then he has to get ready which takes about an hour and Mercedes always wants to have an hour of girl talk, so without Lily Blaine's Saturdays would be very boring.

"I personally don't get what all the fuss is about," Lily tells him one Saturday as she walks with him around the lake. "It's just a game, right?" Blaine shakes his head but he doesn't try to argue with the Potter girl. It's in her genes to be stubborn. "My family hate it when I say that," she continues. "They're all Quidditch nuts – well, except for my grandma, Aunt Hermione, Auntie Fleur and Victoire. Are your family really into it, too? Is that why you think it's so important to win the game?"

"No, my family don't really care about it," Blaine shrugs. "I wanted to win the game because Hufflepuff doesn't win much. Hufflepuff really doesn't get much attention except for being the loser House."

"I don't think you're losers," Lily says honestly. "And neither does my dad. He says that one of the greatest guys he ever met was in Hufflepuff. That Hufflepuff helped him with a Triwizard clue, apparently. And he says that the Hufflepuffs were some of the first to volunteer for fighting in the Second War. He says Hufflepuffs are important." She finishes her little speech with something that sounds to Blaine like a quote.

"Really?" Blaine has to ask because he doesn't really believe it. Harry Potter thought that his House was important? It's slightly morale boosting.

"Oh yeah," Lily replies. "He loves you Puffs." Blaine resists the urge to tell her that only Hufflepuffs can use the term Puffs. "Ooh, look, there's Dylan!" Lily suddenly squeals, completely changing the subject in a typical Lily way. "DYLAN!" She jumps up and down and waves her arms frantically at the giant squid. The squid in question goes underwater for a few seconds before surfacing quite near to the shore where Lily and Blaine stand.

"I didn't know he ever came this close to shore," Blaine breathes, taking in the wonder before him. "He's really big."

Lily looks at him weirdly. "Of course he is," she says. "He's a _giant squid_. It's in the name. Stay right here. Dylan, hang on." She races inside the castle and Blaine expects the squid to vanish, but he remains where he floats, patiently waiting for the small girl to return. When she does, she's carrying a carrot and a piece of cod from the kitchens. "Here you go, boy," she coos and throws the cod and carrot out towards Dylan. Dylan extends one giant tentacle and wraps it around both pieces of food before they can sink and then retreats back into deeper waters.

"Is every Gryffindor friends with the squid?" he asks Lily, who nods enthusiastically and tells him that the squid's name is Dylan like he didn't all ready know.

"Dylan loves carrots," Lily informs Blaine. He just nods. Dylan the squid loves carrots and Lily is best friends with Dylan. Lily is best friends with a carrot loving giant squid who lives in a lake that is located in a school for witches and wizards with food that is provided by house elves, ghosts that wander around the school, a really annoying poltergeist by the name of Peeves, a headmistress who can turn into a cat at will, and portraits that move.

Somehow Blaine feels he should have seen this coming.


End file.
